Wilfrid Paiement, Jr. (; born October 16, 1955) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

right wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) from

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

through

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, for seven different NHL teams. He is the younger brother of former NHL hockey player

Rosaire Paiement Joseph Rosaire Wilfrid Paiement (born August 12, 1945) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He is the older brother of Wilf Paiement. Paiement started his National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1967. He ...

Playing career

Wilf Paiement was selected in the first round (2nd overall) of the 1974 NHL amateur draft by the

Kansas City Scouts The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where ...

. He played two seasons in Kansas City before the team moved to Colorado and became the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. Paiement was a member of the Canadian team that returned to the World Championship in Austria in 1977 after seven years of absence. During the tournament, frustrated by the lack of success, many members of Team Canada, including Paiement, resorted to violence. Paiement attacked Swedish player Lars-Erik Ericsson (who received a stick in the eye), as well as Russian players Shadrin, Yakushev and Babinov (who were all knocked unconscious). On October 25, 1978, Paiement attacked Detroit Red Wings centre Dennis Polonich with his stick. The diminutive five-foot-six-inch Polonich was

trash-talk Trash talk is a form of insult usually found in sports events, although it is not exclusive to sports or similarly characterized events. It is often used to intimidate the opposition and/or make them less confident in their abilities as to win e ...

ing with Paiement, when Paiement struck Polonich's across the face with a two-handed slash, which resulted in severe facial lacerations, a smashed nose that required extensive reconstructive surgery, and a severe concussion. Along with a match penalty, Paiement was given the second longest (at the time) suspension in NHL history - 15 games. Polonich sued, and was rewarded with a settlement of $850,000 in 1982; he has suffered with breathing problems from then on. Paiement was traded from the Rockies to the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

along with Pat Hickey for Lanny McDonald and

Joel Quenneville Joel Norman Quenneville (born September 15, 1958) is a Canadian–American ice hockey coach and former player in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Coach Q", he is second in NHL coaching wins at 969 behind Scotty Bowman. Quenneville ac ...

on December 29, 1979. Paiement played in Toronto for the next three seasons before again being traded to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

for

Miroslav Frycer Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

and a 7th round pick in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

(

Jeff Triano Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form ( hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...

). After five seasons in Quebec, he was traded to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

for

Steve Patrick Stephen Gary Patrick (born February 4, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Patrick played 250 games in the National Hockey L ...

where he only played eight regular season games and 16 playoff games. The

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

claimed Paiement off waivers on October 6, 1986. He only played one season in Buffalo before rounding out his career with the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

and finally, the

Muskegon Lumberjacks The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at Mercy Health Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchi ...

of the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1987–88. At the time of his retirement, he was the last active player who had played for the Kansas City Scouts.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Achievements

Wilf Paiement was the first player drafted by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kan ...

organization. He played in both the first games of the Scouts and the Rockies. Upon his retirement from the NHL, Paiement was the last active player to have played for the Scouts. While Paiement was playing for the

he wore the number 99 for the 187 games he spent in Toronto, and was the last player other than

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

to wear that number, last wearing it on March 6, 1982 against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. Referencing his time using the number 99, Paiement appeared in a commercial for the Canadian furniture store

Leon's Leon's Furniture Ltd. () (Meubles Léon Limité in Quebec) is a Canadian furniture retailer which first opened its store in 1909 in Welland, Ontario. The controlling interest in the company is owned by the Leon family, while some shares are tra ...

in 2008, in honour of their 99th anniversary. The commercial teased the appearance of Gretzky before revealing Paiement, who then said "What, you're expecting someone else?"

Awards

*OMJHL First All-Star Team – 1974 *WEC–A Best Forward – 1979 (Tied with Sergei Makarov) *NHL All–Star Team –

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

Transactions

*July 15, 1976 – Transferred to Colorado after Kansas City franchise relocated. *December 29, 1979 – Traded to Toronto by Colorado with Pat Hickey for Lanny McDonald and Joel Quenneville. *March 9, 1982 – Traded to Quebec by Toronto for Miroslav Frycer and Quebec's 7th round choice (Jeff Triano) in 1982 Entry Draft. *February 6, 1986 – Traded to NY Rangers by Quebec for Steve Patrick. *October 6, 1986 – Claimed by Buffalo from NY Rangers in Waiver Draft. *September 10, 1987 – Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh.

References

External links

*
Wilf's Bio on Hockey Draft Central.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paiement, Wilf 1955 births Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Colorado Rockies (NHL) players Franco-Ontarian people Ice hockey people from Ontario Kansas City Scouts draft picks Kansas City Scouts players Living people Muskegon Lumberjacks players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Rangers players Niagara Falls Flyers players People from Timiskaming District Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Nordiques players St. Catharines Black Hawks players Toronto Maple Leafs players